Shah-i-Kot Valley

The Shah-i-Kot Valley (also Shahi-Kot, Shah-e-Kot and other variant spellings) is a valley located in Afghanistan's Paktia province, southeast of the town of Zormat. The terrain in and around the valley is notoriously rugged, located at a meanaltitude of 9,000 feet (2,700 m). Shah-i-Kot means "Place of the King" and it has historically been a redoubt for Afghan guerrillas hiding from foreign invaders. The area was the scene of fierce fighting between the Afghan mujahideen rebels and Soviet forces during the Soviet–Afghan War, as the battle for Hill 3234.

Locals says the valley was named Shah-i-Kot after Alexander the Great invaded the region and the exile king of the time escaped to the valley with all tribal elders of the kingdom. The king gathered and hired new soldiers to attack the Greeks in Gardiz. He then moved his forces to (KWASH mountain) کوښ غر and the battle ensued near the KWASH mountain. KWASH mountain was named after the battle happened. KWASH was changed from the word GWAASH ګواښ یا ګواش which means warning.